Ladies Waist Maker Union Takes On the Task of Disclosing Fire Traps
Originally published in the Forverts, April 7, 1911
Firetraps, such as those at the Triangle Company, are still frequently found, and the Ladies Waist Makers Union has disclosed such traps to various municipal departments.
The union made a disclosure to the Department of Labor, among others, which subsequently dispatched inspectors to the “Eureka Waist Co.” and “New York Milliner’s Co.,” along with several other shops.
The inspectors found that in the shops they visited the workers lives are not safe. In some there are no fire escapes, while in others the doors open inwards. In yet others the doors are blocked, and in the case of a fire one cannot get through them. Other failures were also noted.
The Department of Sanitation informed the Building Department about a number of cloak shops that are truly firetraps.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
